Defending champion 'devastated ' after being forced to abandon race following
two crashes on day five

Defending champion Chris Froome admitted he was devastated after abandoning the Tour de France as a result of two crashes towards the start of a treacherous fifth stage.

The riders had been anticipating carnage, but ironically the peloton had not even reached the fearsome cobbled sectors by the time Froome hobbled into a team car, clutching his wrist. Wet with rain, the slippery cobbles were almost certainly to blame for the pace with which the peloton was riding, however.

There is traditionally a race to reach the cobbled sectors - which are part of the famous Paris-Roubaix route in north east France, right on the border with Belgium - first so as to be better placed to survive them and avoid any other accidents.

Froome took an early tumble after half an hour or so of racing, switching bikes immediately and catching back up to the peloton with the help of three team-mates.

However, he was later seen by the side of the road, presumably after another spill, clutching the wrist he hurt during a separate fall the previous day. His medical condition remains unclear.

The 29 year-old only received the all-clear to race late on Tuesday night after a scan suggested that he had not sustained any "serious damage".

However, the length of time it took Team Sky to confirm his continued participation suggested they may not have been all that confident.

Team Sky principal Sir Dave Brailsford said: "Chris is a fighter, he's not someone who gives up just like that."

There is likely to be considerable focus now on Brailsford's contentious decision to exclude Sir Bradley Wiggins, although whether the 34 year-old would have been able to challenge the likes of Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) for the general classification is a moot point.

Wiggins, whose relationship with Froome is frosty at best, was left out so as not to risk team harmony. He had been in good stage racing form, winning the Tour of California as recently as May, but that event does not have the same calibre of rival as the Tour de France and in any case he had since switched his focus to track racing ahead of the Commonwealths.

The Australian Richie Porte will now lead Team Sky in the general classification.